Period 40: Midnight Kotatsu
Midnight Kotatsu 'is the 40th chapter of the Zekkyou Gakkyuu series and 1st chapter in the volume 11 manga. Premise ''Yuna hides beneath the Kotatsu to avoid dealing with her family members. But her grandmother warns her that she must be careful, for it contains a portal to another world... Yomi's Introduction Yomi starts by wishing everyone a happy New Years and asks that they continue to take care of Screaming Lessons. She then brings up how wonderful kotatsu's are and mentions that feeling of being comfortable and not wanting to get out from under it. Summary Arriving to her grandmothers place, Yuna runs up to her and wishes her a happy New Year. She remarks on how much Yuna has grown since last time, and Yuna points out that now she is a fourth grader. In narration, Yuna explains how they come by each New Years to the countryside, where her grandmother lives to celebrate. Two years ago her grandfather passed away, and as such her grandmother lives alone now. Heading inside, Yuna happily greets her aunt and uncle, and her younger cousin Sora. She sits down with them and asks for the Otoshidama - money given to children on New Years- and they hand it over. Her mother scolds her for being so upfront about this and she runs off to see how much she is getting that year, thinking about how much she enjoys comparing it with her friends back at school. She plans to purchase several mystery item bags with it- but to her surprise she only finds 5000 yen inside the envelope. She had been expecting at least 10,000. Sora joins her afterwards with the otoshidama he got from her parents, and Sora remarks that her dad was probably feeling generous; as Sora is only a first grader. But she is baffled when she sees he got the 10,000 yen she wanted. She silently fumes as Sora happily remarks upon this, unaware of her growing frustrations until she swipes it from him and runs off to hide it. He chases after her and she continues to run until she comes across the kotatsu. She hides beneath it as he is reduced to tears, trying to locate her. She really wants more money though, and if grandpa was still around he would slip her some in private like he always did the past few years. At this rate she won't be able to afford very much. It's then she sees an Entrance Seal on the underside of the kotatsu and without thought rips it off to look at it. But as she crawls out she is startled when she spots Mikan staring at her, the families cat. She tries to shoo Mikan away, saying her grandfather loved it as she watches it turn around and go beneath the kotatsu. With snacks and manga, Yuna lays beneath the kotatsu as Sora returns, asking her to give back his money. She teases him before recalling the new anime she wanted to watch at midnight- but her grandmother forbids it, saying children must go to bed early. Yuna attempts to reason with her, but she teasingly claims that if she doesn't listen she will be taken to another world. It's a legend around this area, saying that the kotatsu was made from trees used in shrines, so whenever midnight strikes it becomes a portal to another world. But she goes on to say that because grandpa stuck on a tag she might be okay. This causes Yuna to remember the seal she ripped off and she wonders if it had been put their on purpose. As her grandmother hands her a drink Yuna assures herself it's just made up nonsense so kids go to bed early. Later, Yuna's father finds her preparing for bed. Surprised, he points out how unlike her this is and how it isn't even ten yet, but she claims that grandmother would prefer it if she went to bed early. She is joined by Sora and questions why he's even still up, then turns in after noticing how distressed he looks. During the night as everyone sleeps, Sora awakens and leaves his resting spot. The following morning, Yuna expresses shock after being told that he's gone missing. They thought he might have went to the restroom during the evening- but he never returned. Yuna begins to fear the worst and glances at the kotatsu, wondering if he got up around midnight to try to locate the money she stole. Realizing what her granny said wasn't a lie, Yuna panics until she is asked if she knows anything. She is quick to claim she doesn't though, and she rushes back to her sleeping spot to grab the seal she ripped off earlier to put it right back. But as she sees Sora's envelope she claims she isn't to blame because he didn't listen. Packing her items, Yuna heads outside to find her mother and several people worriedly searching the area for any sign of Sora. She suggests they head home now and claims the police will find Sora, although she knows this is far from the truth. Worried that she could be taken into the other world, she just wants to leave; besides she already got her money. Suddenly, Yuna is caught-off guard when her mother slaps her, and she begins to chastise Yuna for being so selfish by only thinking of herself. As Yuna slowly gets over her shock they are approached by someone who calls for everyone. He reveals they located Sora, who got stuck in the pantry overnight. Quickly everyone rushes to his side, apologizing for not being aware of this and they eagerly chat with him, just glad to know he is okay; everyone exept for Yuna, who is fuming in silence over being struck for nothing. Her foul mood remains when Sora suddenly runs up to her with joy. She is sure he wants his money back, but now that she's angry she really doesn't want to hand it over now. But as she reaches into her pocket she remembers the seal and takes off, asking him to wait a moment. She returns, claiming to have put a seal on it to make sure the money didn't fall out, and he happily runs off. She reveals that she kept the money, saying that he should be happy to even get that silly tag after everything she had dealt with. She refuses to hand over the money and she returns to her place beneath the kotatsu. Later into the evening, her parents come by to suggest she go to bed now. Still seeing her sulk, her mother remarks on how she's been doing this since noon, but from where she lays Yuna refuses to forgive her after what happened. If she got more money she might be willing to reconsider though. Seeing that everyone else has gone to bed as midnight approaches, Yuna's parents say goodnight to her and take off. Seeing the lights shut off, Yuna decides she should probably go to sleep, and she turns to find her parents laying down, already asleep. Yuna turns over when her foot suddenly pokes something, and she looks to notice a large bump on the other side of the kotatsu. Initially she believes it's just someone still there- but after a second it dons on Yuna that everyone has gone already come by to say goodnight and head off to bed. She begins to panic as she remembers the words of her grandmother, but she assumes it's probably Mikan and ducks under the thick fabric as the figure steps out. She observes their dark skin and fears it's a burglar, but as she sees them looking for something, she realizes that she's recognized their attire and continues panicking as they begin to make their way over to her. Suddenly, Yuna is alarmed when she realizes the figure is the spirit of her grandfather; but his face is terrifying distorted. He remarks on how he's found her and mentions that he'd like to give her this years money as well- but rather than hand over anything, he drags her beneath the kotatsu. The next morning Yuna's parents attempt to locate her as Mikan sleeps on the kotatsu, with the crumpled up money Yuna stole from Sora. Her mother assumes she is still angry, unaware of this. Yomi's Epilogue Yomi claims she is jealous of Yuna. Right now she probably got all of the money she wanted from her grandfather. As she heads over to her own kotatsu, she suggests that everyone checks beneath it as well to see if a seal is there. But she warns them not to remove it if there is. Characters *Yuna *Yuna's parents *Yuna's grandmother *Yuna's grandfather *Sora *Sora's Parents *Mikan Quotes Trivia *The Packy featured in this manga is based off of the real-world product '''Pocky. Gallery Category:Vol 10 Category:Manga Category:Chapters